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Sunday, 16 October 2016

Helen Lanyon (1882 – 1979) – British poet

My thanks to Carley for asking me to research Helen Lanyon.

Helen was born Helen Redfern in Kensington in 1882.Her father was Clement Cotterell Redfern, a
barrister and her mother was Margaret A.B. Redfern.Helen had a half-sister called Clara, who was
born in 1871 and a sister called Joan, who was born in 1882.

Helen married Charles James Lanyon, great-grandson of Sir
Charles Lanyon the Irish architect, on 23rd August 1902. In his
obituary in 1940, Charles's wife Helen was described as the “distinguished poet” and
mention was made of her poems about the Antrim Glens and her collection
entitled “The Hill O’Dreams, and other poems” (published in Dublin by Sealy,
Bryers and Walker in 1909).The poem “At
Easter” is included in that collection. This was set to music by the composer Sir Herbert Hamilton Harty (1879 - 1941). Hamilton Harty joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during WW1 and served in the North Sea.

Helen and her husband had a daughter called Carla Lanyon
Lanyon who was also a poet and writer. Carla seems to have married Edward S
Hacker in 1927 and they had a son.

Original War Poems By Lucy London

About Me

"Poems are made by fools like me..." Joyce Kilmer "Trees and Other Poems, 1914. Lucy London is a poet. Having trained as a French/English shorthand secretary and worked in London in the media and PR, she worked for some years on the Continent of Europe. In 1998 she studied at the University of Central Lancashire and in 2001 graduated with a BA (Hons). Forgotten Poets is the latest addition to her WW1 commemorative exhibition project.